Bicycling coast to coast for a cause

Teacher plans 3,000-mile bike trek on behalf of Catholic education.

May 28, 2013|Daniel Patrick Sheehan | In The Burbs

You might have read correspondent Margie Peterson's bittersweet story the other day about the demolition of the old Christ the King School in Coplay. She wrote about impromptu class reunions breaking out among alumni of the Catholic school who would stop to pick up souvenir bricks from the debris pile.

Christ the King was the victim of those inexorable forces that have forced Catholic dioceses across the nation to close and consolidate churches and schools over the past few years — aging, shrinking congregations, urban-to-suburban population shifts and the sheer cost of doing anything these days.

But tucked in the story was a bit of good news about the state of Catholic education in the Diocese of Allentown, of which the late, lamented Christ the King was a part. It was the only diocese in Pennsylvania where enrollment rose this year over last.

Hoping to keep that trend going, Catholic school teacher Rebecca Gonzalez is planning to do something extraordinary this summer — fly to San Diego, Calif., hop on a bicycle and ride all the way back east.

The journey begins June 9. If all goes well, she'll end in Annapolis, Md., sometime in mid-August, after pedaling 50 to 55 miles per day. The route and pace follow that of Race Across America, an annual cycling endurance event that began in 1982.

Gonzalez, who teaches fifth- and sixth-grade math at Notre Dame of Bethlehem School, is calling her 3,022-mile venture "Coast to Coast for Catholic Schools."

The graduate of Bethlehem Catholic High School and Jesuit-run University of Scranton aims to raise awareness of Catholic education and $20,000 in donations, the approximate cost of Catholic school tuition from kindergarten through eighth grade.

Donors can give as little as a dollar, but Gonzalez, 24, set up a sponsorship structure, too: one mile for $10, all the way up to a full day for $385.

The money will be donated to the Eastern Pennsylvania Scholarship Fund, which provided financial assistance to diocesan students.

Sponsors have paid for Gonzalez's flight to California and for the van that will serve as her support vehicle along the way. She'll spend her nights at Catholic churches and schools and has built 10 days of rest into the itinerary.

Gonzalez has set up a website for the trip: http://www.coasttocoastforcatholicschools.org. The page has instructions on how to make a donation, plus links to a Facebook page, Twitter account and YouTube channel where she will share information about the journey.

A send-off Mass will be held at Notre Dame of Bethlehem Church at 8:45 a.m. June 7.

•Catching up: A while back I did a story about Michael Montero and his shop in Emmaus, Montero Violins.

Recently, Montero sent an email to let me know he is hosting a free stringed instrument and bow exhibit on June 8 at the Hotel Bethlehem.

"When Wood Sings" will be held 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Mural Ballroom. It will include, among other things, an 11 a.m. seminar on picking the best strings and a 1 p.m. class on maintaining instruments.